Henry Ford Health, Wayne State To Train Audiology Students

Henry Ford Health System and Wayne State University have reached a new affiliation agreement designed to enhance clinical training of audiology students and better prepare them to provide high quality hearing and balance care in Southeast Michigan.

The five-year contract creates an academic partnership between Wayne State’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Henry Ford’s Division of Audiology in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Discussions aimed at creating this partnership began in early 2010.

As part of the agreement, Wayne State students enrolled in the four-year Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) program will have the opportunity to apply their classroom learning to patient care in their first year, as well as have formal clinical training at Henry Ford Hospital during their second year in the program.

Through this enhanced program, Henry Ford also will arrange clinical placement opportunities for students at cooperating clinical facilities and hospitals throughout the country.

“The goal of this partnership is to raise the bar in terms of audiology clinical education and in doing so, attract some of the best and brightest students to the program,” said Brad A. Stach, division head of audiology at Henry Ford.

Added Jean E. Andruski, chair of the department of communication science and disorders at Wayne State: “This agreement will allow us to guarantee exceptional levels of clinical training to our Au.D. students throughout their degree program.”

The agreement also calls for the two sides to collaborate in the design, development and staffing of a University Audiology Clinic in an existing building on Wayne State’s campus.

The on-campus clinic, funded in part by the Carls Foundation, will offer first-year students clinical experience, under the supervision of Henry Ford audiology staff.

Wayne State currently has 40 audiology students enrolled in its four-year degree program — 10 students for each year of the program.

Under the new agreement, students will be trained by Henry Ford experts to evaluate and manage hearing and balance problems in newborns, children and adults. Students also will have a very diverse audiology training experience at Henry Ford, from hearing aids and cochlear implant evaluations to infant hearing screenings and tinnitus management.

Several Henry Ford audiologists have faculty appointments in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Wayne State, and many Henry Ford research scientists and teaching physicians have faculty appointments in the Wayne State School of Medicine through previous agreements.

In December 2010, Henry Ford and Wayne State’s School of Medicine signed a five-year affiliation to increase the number of Wayne State medical students training in Henry Ford facilities. This agreement encourages more collaborative research, co-brands some physician residency and fellowship programs, and explores the creation of a school of public health and seeks efficiencies through programmatic integration.

To learn more about the Department of Communication Science and Disorders at Wayne State University, visit www.clas.wayne.edu/csd. More information about Henry Ford’s Division of Audiology is available online at http://www.henryford.com/.